Barely a month and a half into the new year, and Booster booster Cort has already gathered a new line-up of Booster Gold commissions.

Freddie Williams III

Stephen Sadowski

Cary Nord

John Delaney

Cort notes that both Sadowski and Nord think this was the first time in their careers they've been asked to draw Booster Gold. Hopefully it won't be their last.

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In the comments of my blog post about the single greatest Booster Gold comic ever written (Justice League #4), there was some discussion about when exactly Booster's comic book portrayals turned from fun-loving but competent crime fighter (as portrayed in his own original series) to bumbling moron (as portrayed in 52 and just about everywhere since).

The timing of that change can be narrowed to shortly after the dawn of the 21st-century. No so coincidentally, that's about the same time that Blue Beetle's character also got an overhaul before coming to a very gory end.

Blue Beetle, who during the JLI years always played the fool in the original Blue and Gold dynamic, lost his sense of humor for his inclusion in the 1999 L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) mini-series reuniting the former Charlton Comics characters. For a few years following, he appeared much more prominently in DC Comics than his best friend, notably in issues of Birds of Prey, where he was diagnosed with a weak heart and semi-retired from heroics. This allowed his more serious demeanor a chance to take root with readers and editors alike.

I'd always assumed that was why, when Beetle and Booster were reunited in 2003's Formerly Known as the Justice League, the comedy roles of the two super buddies were swapped. However, when I put that question to JLI writer J.M. DeMatteis on Twitter last week, he revealed a different reason.

Whatever you think of the change, you have to admit that "just because" is as good a reason as Beetle and Booster ever had for any of their hijinx.

And now you know the rest of the story. (Thanks to Ariel for inspiring this topic.)

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DC solicitations for May were released on Friday, and the biggest news for Booster Gold fans won't be making it into stores until August!

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC
written by KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DEMATTEIS, and others
art by KEITH GIFFEN, CHRIS SPROUSE, MIKE McKONE, MARSHALL ROGERS, DARICK ROBERTSON, and others
new cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE
Maxwell Lord’s domination of the Justice League continues in this second omnibus of never-before-collected issues! As the League franchises out to Antarctica, Lord Havok and the Extremists arrive on Earth to continue their galactic conquest, and Blue Beetle and Booster Gold come up with another of their countless schemes. Collects Justice League America #31-50, Justice League Europe #7-25, Justice League America Annual #4, Justice League Europe Annual #1,< /em>Justice League Quarterly #1, and Justice League International Special #1.
ON SALE 08.26.20 · $125.00

That's a whole lot of Booster Gold (including the Quarterly issue that was just reprinted this week in Justice League: Corporate Maneuvers).

Elsewhere, it looks like Booster will also be making return appearances of varying degrees (most of them very, very small) in the upcoming Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen trade (June 3) , Dial H for Hero Volume 2: New Heroes of Metropolis trade (June 3), Justice League of America by Brad Meltzer: The Deluxe Edition hardcover (June 10), and Justice League Volume 5: Justice/Doom War trade (June 17).

The solicitations don't indicate that Booster will be in Harley Quinn #73, which appears to continue the story begun in issue #70. I guess we'll find out whether that's a must-buy for Booster boosters when we get to May 6.

You can read the complete list of solicitations on Newsarama.com.

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